weakness

UK/ˈwiːk.nɪs//ˈwik.nɪs/

weakness noun: the condition of being weak.

Noun

weakness (countable and uncountable, plural weaknesses)

(uncountable) The condition of being weak.
- Near-synonyms: debility, frailty, vulnerability; vincibility
- In a small number of horses, muscle weakness may progress to paralysis.
Synonyms:

debility, frailty, vulnerability, vincibility

Antonyms:

strength, power, powerfulness, invulnerability, invincibility
(countable) An inadequate quality; fault.
- His inability to speak in front of an audience was his weakness.
- The only weakness in her plan was its reliance on the electricity being up and running.
Synonyms:

defect, flaw, hole

Antonyms:

strength, forte
(countable) A special fondness or obsessing desire.
- She is an athlete who has a weakness for chocolate.
Synonyms:

soft spot

weakness meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

weakness in Hindi

condition of being weak: निर्बलता nirbaltā, दुर्बलता durbaltā, अक्षमता akṣamtā, शिथिलता śithiltā
fault: खोट khoṭ

weakness in Tamil

தளர்ச்சி, பலவீனம்

weakness in Marathi

weakness, debility: अशक्तपणा aśaktapaṇā
weakness: कमजोरी kamjorī
weakness, debility, frailty: दुबळेपणा dubḷepaṇā
weakness, feebleness, frailness: दौर्बल्य daurbalya

weakness in Urdu

weakness: کمزوری kamzorī, روگ rog
weakness, fragility: نزاکت nazākat

More languagesFewer languages

weakness in Bengali: দুর্বলতা durbôlôta
weakness in Telugu: అశక్తి aśakti, అశక్తత aśaktata, జబ్బు jabbu
weakness in Malayalam: ബലഹീനത balahīnata, ദുർബലത duṟbalata, ക്ഷീണം kṣīṇaṁ
weakness in Kannada: ನಲುವು, ಅಳವುಗುಂದಿಕೆ, ಗೀಳು, ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಚಟ
weakness in Punjabi: ਦੋਸ਼ doś, روگ rog
weakness in Gujarati: નબળાઈ, નબળાઇ
weakness in Odia: ଦୁର୍ବଳତା
weakness in Sanskrit: अन्तर ántara
weakness in Nepali: कमजोरी
weakness in Tagalog: kahinaan
weakness in Arabic: ضَعْف ḍaʕf
weakness in Malay: kelemahan
weakness in Indonesian: kelemahan
weakness in Thai: ความอ่อนแอ kwaam òn ae, จุดอ่อน

Examples of weakness in a sentence

It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249:
The compulsion to expose, renegotiate, or reinvent the strengths and weaknesses of dance tradition offers little in its final outcome to attract the average dance-goer.2013, Deborah Hay, My Body, The Buddhist, →ISBN, page 78:

All 40 example sentences with weakness

Synonyms of weakness

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of weakness

Forms of weakness

plural	weaknesses
alternative form	weakenes

Plural of weakness: weaknesses

Origin of weakness

From Middle English weyknesse, replacing earlier Middle English wocnesse, wakenes, wacnesse (“weakness”), from Old English wācnes (“weakness”). Equivalent to weak + -ness.

Words formed from weakness

nonweakness

Questions about weakness

What does weakness mean?: Weakness means the condition of being weak.
What is weakness in Hindi?: Weakness in Hindi is निर्बलता (nirbaltā), दुर्बलता (durbaltā), अक्षमता (akṣamtā). See Weakness meaning in Hindi.
How do you use weakness in a sentence?: It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.
What part of speech is weakness?: Weakness is a noun.
How do you pronounce weakness?: Weakness is pronounced /ˈwiːk.nɪs/ (UK).
What is the plural of weakness?: The plural of weakness is weaknesses.

Words near weakness in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-weakness.ogg.

Cite this entry: “weakness.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/weakness. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.